Chapter Six
One day two weeks later, Heyes stepped outside with his first cup of coffee to be greeted by the sun's first rays sparkling off the season's first blanket of pristine snow. For the first few minutes he enjoyed the beauty and the silence, then a pang of disappointment struck as he realized this probably meant the end of Brigitte's and Mary's daily visits. With a deep sigh he turned back to the kitchen and rummaged in the larder for breakfast fixings.
"Why are you cookin' breakfast, Heyes?" Curry asked as he came sleepy-eyed into the kitchen.
"Look outside," was the cryptic reply.
The gunslinger took in the changed landscape. "Yeah, it snowed, so what?"
"So maybe the girls won't be able to make it up here today."
"Oh." The disappointment on Curry's face was almost comical. "I didn't think about that."
"I guess it's somethin' we'd better get used to, Kid - - this is just the first snow of winter."
"An' whose bright idea was it to wait until Spring t'get married?" the gunslinger growled.
"Mine, an' just cuz I might be regrettin' it now don't mean it wasn't the right idea."
"Yeah, well, it's gonna be a long winter," Curry mourned.
"Not as long as the one we spent snowed in playin' Montana Red Dog."
"Don't even remind me of that, Heyes - - makes me sick rememberin' we were rich!"
"For just about a minute," Heyes added with another shake of his head.
"Why the sad faces?" Mick asked from the doorway.
"It snowed last night," the two ex-outlaws replied in unison.
"Usually does in winter." She walked to the door to look out at the glistening white blanket. "Personally I love the sight of fresh fallen snow."
"Yeah, it can be nice with the right company," Curry sighed.
Mick's sudden laughter startled them. "Oh, my," she giggled. "Two desperate outlaws like yourselves mopin' around like love-sick school boys is a sight to behold! I wonder what the rest of the Devil's Hole gang would think if they saw you like this?"
"Who's mopin'?" Heyes demanded in offense. "Kid might mope, but I don't!"
"Yeah, Heyes broods," Curry agreed. "An' if any of the gang laughed like you are, Mick, I'd hafta invite 'em outside for a little lessonin' like only Kid Curry can give."
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of good new, but you're both moping too soon." Mick pointed out past the barn at the two horses galloping through the snow.
"All right!" Curry cheered and clapped Heyes on the shoulder happily, who responded with his own ear-to-ear grin.
The riders brought their horses to prancing stops outside the kitchen door and two rosy-cheeked faces with sparkling eyes smiled down at the three standing in the doorway.
"We hardly expected a welcoming committee!" Brigitte laughed as she swung lithely down to the ground and into Heyes' open arms.
Curry stepped forward and gallantly helped Mary dismount.
"These two fellows were near tears thinking how you two wouldn't be able to come up today," Mick explained as she casually leaned against the doorway, her arms crossed across her chest.
"Really?" Brigitte quirked an eyebrow at the dark-haired outlaw who held her. "How heart warming!"
"Mick's exaggerating, Brigitte," Heyes put in with a dark look in the girl gunslinger's direction.
"Oh, so you wouldn't have missed us then?"
"Of course we would've missed you, but . . ."
"Do I smell something burning?" Mary asked.
"Breakfast!" Heyes exclaimed and ran back inside.
"Aw, Heyes, you didn't just burn breakfast!" Curry groaned.
"Seems like we arrived in the nick of time," Brigitte chuckled.
"I'd better go help him, or you all may go hungry," Mary tsked with a smile.
"Oh, would you please, Mary?" Curry begged as his stomach growled loudly.
The three women laughed at the gunslinger's woebegone expression and Mary disappeared inside where clanging pots and colorful language could be heard.
"I'll help you put the horses up," Mick offered.
"Thanks, Mick," Brigitte replied. "I was hoping to have a little private chat with you anyway."
Curry was left abandoned on the porch, though not for long as Heyes and Sam were both shooed outside by Mary.
"Don't come back until breakfast is ready - - you men have done enough damage in the kitchen already," she scolded.
"What did I do?" Sam protested to the closed door.
Heyes handed Curry a steaming cup of coffee. "Don't take it personal, Sam," he advised.
"Oh, I won't - - my mother used to throw the menfolk out of the kitchen all the time, said we had no business being in a woman's domain. Braving the rolling pin to snatch tidbits was a favorite pastime for my brothers and me!"
"Sounds pretty typical."
They sipped their coffee companionably for a few moments, the hot liquid keeping the chill away.
"There's enough snow," Sam finally said. "To try out that sleigh we built."
"Wouldn't moonlight be better for a romantic sleigh ride?" Heyes teased.
"It would, but I don't fancy getting shot by Kid if I take Mary, and Brigitte would likely shoot me herself if I suggested such a thing," the wrangler replied.
"You forgot about Mick."
"Hah, no I didn't!" Sam snorted. "She'd likely gut shoot me and gloat while she watched me die a slow and excruciatingly painful death!"
"I'm sure you're exaggeratin', Sam," Heyes replied.
"No, really, I get the feeling she doesn't like me too much!"
"See, Heyes, I'm not the only one," Curry put in.
Heyes tsked and shook his head, about to say something, when Curry said, "Shhh! Here she comes with Brigitte!"
"Mornin', boys," Brigitte greeted brightly. "What're you three talkin' about so secretively?"
"Nothin'," Curry replied.
"Just talking about the snow," Sam answered.
"Uh-huh, sure looked like a conversation about the weather," the redhead said in disbelief, her hands on her hips.
"Brigitte, my darlin', I was tellin' 'em about the brilliant plan I dreamed up t'rob the bank in Fort Worth!" Heyes lied glibly and put his arms around her to pull her close.
"Heyes has been dreamin' about that bank for years, Brigitte," Curry added. "Too bad he comes up with the perfect plan now that we've gone straight."
"Genius can't be rushed, Kid," the ex-outlaw leader said in his defense.
"There you go with the blarney again, Joshua! Fine, don't tell us what you were talkin' about - - I'm goin' in to eat breakfast!"
"Mary threw us out and told us not to come in until she called us," Sam reported mournfully.
"Well, I'm sure she only meant you men," Brigitte began only to be interrupted by her sister informing them that breakfast was ready.
"So what were you plannin' t'do with the sleigh, Sam?" Heyes asked after their appetites had been sated.
"I thought I'd take a load of hay out to the mustangs. I don't want to spoil them so they won't forage on their own, but I want to make sure they don't leave this range in search of food," Sam explained.
"That sounds like fun. Can I come?" Brigitte asked enthusiastically.
"Sure, I could use some extra hands," the wrangler agreed.
"Great, then Mick can come, too."
"If she wants."
"Why not?" Mick shrugged.
"What about you and Thaddeus, Joshua? What are you up to today - - besides robbing the Fort Worth bank?"
"Considering the snow, today would be a good day to check out the other entrance to this valley that you said will stay open even if the main pass is closed by snow. How do we find it?" Heyes asked.
"Easy - - just follow Mary's and my tracks since we came up that way today."
"And you're sure nobody else knows about it?" Curry questioned, ever mindful of security.
"Pretty sure, although I can't vouch for all of the old timers, and the timber men who were there years ago may have found it, but since I've been using it I've seen no other tracks but mine."
"It's not the local folds we'd be worried about anyway," the gunslinger replied.
"When you go through you'll see that it's not very likely that anyone will stumble on it accidentally - - they'd have to know what they were looking for," Brigitte assured them.
"Well, once I've seen that that's the case then I'll be able to rest a little easier."
Heyes and Curry stayed around long enough after breakfast to help load the sleigh with hay before setting off on their errand, their horses kicking up sprays of snow as they galloped across the white fields.
George was sweeping out the past night's debris, the brisk morning breeze coming through the batwing doors cleansing the air of the odors of stale liquor and tobacco, when a dusty, trail worn figure pushed through those same doors. "The saloon isn't open for business yet, mister," he said.
"I'm only looking for information, if you can spare that," the stranger replied.
"What kind of information?"
"I've been on the trail for months looking for my brother and the last information I had was that he was headed here."
"Well, stranger, lots of men pass through here all the time - - how would I know your brother from any of them?" George asked, leaning on his broom.
"Oh, you'd know him if you saw him - - you see, my brother is the Silver Kid!"
The bartender's eyes opened wide. "That's not a relationship I'd be proud to claim."
The stranger looked down in discomfort. "I know what you mean, our mother and I have suffered public scorn whenever it becomes known that he's our kin and, were it not for dire need, I wouldn't be seeking him out now."
"What need is so pressing?" George asked boldly, his curiosity aroused.
"Our mother is very ill - - dying even - - and she wishes to see him one more time to try and convince him to change his evil ways! So can you tell me if he's been through here?"
"Oh, he's been through here all right! As a matter of fact, he's working a local horse ranch."
"Is that so? Can you perhaps point me in the right direction to this ranch?"
"Certainly. Go east straight out of town until you see a small road leading off to the right up into the mountains. When you get to the top you'll be able to see the ranch from there."
"Any you're certain he's still there?"
"Last time I saw him he didn't seem in any particular hurry to leave."
"Thank you, barkeep, you've been most helpful. I know our mother would thank you if she could."
"Some folk in this town will thank you if you take him away with you - - Coldwater doesn't need his kind!"
"I understand. Thanks again." The stranger touched the brim of his hat with his fingers and turned back out the swinging doors.
George missed the triumphant leer on the stranger's face.
Heyes and Curry followed the hoof prints in the snow into a narrow defile that made them ride single file and which was protected from much of the snowfall by the frequent granite overhangs. The footing was good for the horses and they made quick progress.
A final sharp turn to the left brought them out onto the valley floor - - Coldwater in the distance. They rode on a short way and then turned to look back the way they'd come.
"Can you see where we came out, Kid?" Heyes asked, leaning casually on his saddle horn.
"Nope."
"Huh, pretty amazing. A person would have to be riding at just the right angle to see that there's a break there, and curious enough to ride in to see that it doesn't just end at a rock wall."
"That pretty much describes Brigitte," Curry deadpanned.
"You're so right, Kid," Heyes smiled. "I think we can consider it a pretty safe escape route, don't you?"
"Yup, but let's hope it ain't needed."
"That's always the hope, Kid."
"You up for a drink before headin' back?"
"It'd be a shame not to since we're this close."
"Race you there!"
Like carefree children they kicked their mounts into a gallop and sped across the snow covered ground, the chill wind stinging red into their cheeks and making their eyes water.
Friendly greetings were called to them as they trotted up the street to the saloon where George's sweeping had moved to the boardwalk outside. He stopped his work to lean on the broom as the two riders reined up to the hitching rail. "I'm surprised to see you two here this morning," he commented to the newcomers.
"Why's that, George?" Heyes questioned as he dismounted lithely and quickly tied his reins to the rail.
"Well, I guess I figured you'd go back on up once you'd met up with the Silver Kid's brother on the road up - - you know, to make sure he got there okay."
The two former outlaws froze, instantly alert. "Who?"
"The Silver Kid's brother," the barkeeper repeated. "Fella came in this morning, said he was the Silver Kid's brother and that their mother was dying and wanted to see him one more time to try to convince him to mend his ways. I told him how to get to your place."
"Blond hair?"
"No, it was dark."
"Gray eyes?"
George thought for a moment. "No, they were kind of yellow now you ask."
Heyes exchanged a quick look with Curry who nodded. With quick tugs they released their reins and remounted in unison. "George, go get the sheriff. Tell 'im t'round up a posse an' get to our place pronto - - Potter's gang is on its way up!"
"What gang? It was only one man!" George protested.
"Just do it, George," Curry finally spoke in a no nonsense voice.
"But how do you know it wasn't the Silver Kid's brother?"
From his saddle Heyes looked grimly down on the barman. "Mick's got no family at all!" He reined his horse away and then immediately back again, causing the horse to prance impatiently. "And, George, if you ever open your mouth out of turn again I'll personally see to it that it's shut permanently!" The former outlaw leader wasn't one to issue violent threats as a rule, but the anger and fear that churned his guts at that moment needed a release. "An' when I'm done I'll turn you over to Thaddeus."
The hapless George looked from one to the other, not knowing which to fear most - - the obviously furious Smith, or the silent Jones, whose icy blue glare promised as much as his partner's words.
"Get the sheriff!" Heyes repeated and the pair wheeled away, racing back the way they'd come, heedless of the pedestrians who leaped from their path.
A lone rider coming from the opposite end of town had opened his mouth to call out to them, but shut it as they were swallowed up by the distance.